Newsroom Archive

Published on: 10/28/2011

Columbus – More than 430 municipal officials and industry representatives gathered in Columbus this week for the 2011 AMP/OMEA Annual Conference.

Conference attendees celebrated the AMP’s 40th anniversary and heard presentations on a variety of industry and financial topics and attended annual meetings for both organizations as well as project participant meetings.

During the AMP General Membership meeting, elections were held to fill four expiring terms on the AMP Board of Trustees. The communities Napoleon, Cuyahoga Falls, Dover and Newton Falls were elected by the membership for new three-year terms on the Board. The following individuals were re-elected officers of the AMP Board, Chair: Jon Bisher, City Manager Napoleon; Vice Chair: Steve Dupee, Director Oberlin Municipal Light & Power System; Secretary: Pam Lucas, Village Manager Montpelier; Treasurer: Tracy Reimbold, Finance Director Newton Falls.

During the OMEA General Membership meeting, elections were also held to fill four expiring terms on the Board of Directors. The communities of Edgerton, Montpelier, Napoleon and Orrville were re-elected to seats on the OMEA Board of Directors and the following individuals were re-elected to seats on the three-member Executive Committee, President: Mayor Richard Homrighausen, City of Dover; Mayor Douglas Johnson, City of Bryan; Mayor Robert Vincenzo, City of St. Clairsville.

Educational/informational sessions at the annual conference included: AMP President/CEO Marc Gerken providing his perspective on the organization’s 40 year history and where he sees AMP and the industry heading, a panel of industry representatives discussing natural gas markets, shale and other industry issues; American Public Power Association President Mark Crisson sharing his insights on issues facing public power; a panel of AMP member community representatives joining Ohio Controlling Board President Randy Cole in a discussion of government collaboration; an overview of credit rating processes featuring a representative of Fitch Ratings; an overview of energy and capacity markets; a discussion of financial and operational best practices; a discussion on succession planning; an update on environmental regulations affecting the operation of diesel generating units; and updates/discussions on other timely industry issues.